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  • Diane Abbott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Diane Abbott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that zero-hour contracts are not used in an exploitative manner.

    Jenny Willott

    My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills launched a consultation on proposals to tackle abuses in the use of zero hours contracts. The consultation was launched on 19 December 2013, closed on 13 March 2014 and received over 30,000 responses.

    The Government response to the consultation will be published in due course.

  • Diane Abbott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diane Abbott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that resources for mental health services meet the requirements of both adults and children.

    Norman Lamb

    Mental health and wellbeing, for both adults and children, is a priority for this Government. Our overarching goal is to ensure that mental health has equal priority with physical health, and that everyone who needs it has timely access to the best available treatment. We have enshrined in law the equal status of mental and physical health in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

    The Mandate to NHS England makes clear that ‘everyone who needs it should have timely access to evidence based services’. This will involve extending and ensuring more open access to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme, in particular for children and young people, and for those out of work.

    We are also committed to introducing access and/or waiting time standards for mental health. The revised Mandate asks NHS England to develop and evaluate a range of costed options to implement access and waiting standards for mental health services starting from April 2015, with a phased introduction depending on affordability.

    We will hold the National Health Service to account for the quality of services and outcomes for mental health patients through the NHS Outcomes Framework. Improvements for people with mental health problems will also be a crucial element of success across the framework as a whole.

    Our action plan, Closing the Gap, which was launched in January 2014, sets our priorities for action and progress in mental health services over the next couple of years, including actions supporting commissioners in allocating resources.

    We are setting up a new, national Mental Health Intelligence Network to provide comprehensive, up to date information about mental health and wellbeing, mental health problems and what the most pressing needs are in each area – which will support commissioning of services.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Debbie Abrahams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff are employed in (a) his Department, (b) NHS England and (c) Monitor to undertake work on or relating to competition issues; and what the cost of employing such staff was in each of the last five years.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The following table lists the number of staff currently employed to work on competition issues in the Department, NHS England and Monitor.

    The level of spend on employing staff to work on competition issues in each of the last five years could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

    Organisation

    Number of Staff Employed

    Cost of employing such staff in 2013-14

    Department of Health

    2

    £98,760-£121,8141

    NHS England

    0 full time posts

    n/a

    Monitor2

    30

    £1,588,554

    Notes:

    1 The figures shown are the combined cost of the paybands for the 2 staff.

    2Monitor’s competition functions were established by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. In the transition year 2012-13 Monitor hosted the Cooperation and Competition Panel at a cost of £1,068,099

  • Ann McKechin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Ann McKechin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann McKechin on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions either orally or in writing he or his Ministers or officials have had with (a) Pfizer and (b) AstraZeneca in the last two months regarding any bid for AstraZeneca.

    Mr David Cameron

    We are committed to ensuring that the life sciences sector in this country continues to flourish and grow, with the UK at the forefront of life sciences R&D, and retaining our role as a leading manufacturing base. While ultimately the potential takeover bid is a matter for the respective boards and shareholders of the two companies, Ministers and officials across Government have engaged with both companies to ensure that the outcome is positive for the long-term future of this sector in the UK.

    I also refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave at Prime Minister’s Questions today.

  • Ann McKechin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Ann McKechin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann McKechin on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what criteria he used to select those who he has instructed to review any bid for AstraZeneca.

    Mr David Cameron

    We are committed to ensuring that the life sciences sector in this country continues to flourish and grow, with the UK at the forefront of life sciences R&D, and retaining our role as a leading manufacturing base. While ultimately the potential takeover bid is a matter for the respective boards and shareholders of the two companies, Ministers and officials across Government have engaged with both companies to ensure that the outcome is positive for the long-term future of this sector in the UK.

    I also refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave at Prime Minister’s Questions today.

  • Ann McKechin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ann McKechin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann McKechin on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions either orally or in writing he or his Ministers or officials in his Department have had with (a) Pfizer and (b) AstraZeneca in the last two months regarding any bid for AstraZeneca.

    Mr David Willetts

    There are ongoing interactions at senior level between Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and senior executives from both AstraZeneca and Pfizer as part of the Department’s wider interactions with the Life Sciences industry.

    BIS Ministers have spoken with the Chief Executives and others from both companies in the last couple of weeks about recent market developments including the approaches from Pfizer to AstraZeneca.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what requests for assistance the Government has received in connection with the recent kidnappings from Chibok, Nigeria.

    Mark Simmonds

    Since the abduction of the Nigerian school girls on 14 April, our High Commission in Abuja has remained in close contact with the Nigerian authorities. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) offered our assistance when he spoke to the Nigerian Foreign Minister on 18 April. So far we have not received a formal request for assistance from the Nigerian Government.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the current whereabouts of the children recently kidnapped from Chibok, Nigeria.

    Mark Simmonds

    Since the abduction of the Nigerian school girls on 14 April we have remained in close contact with the Nigerian authorities about the case. Although the whereabouts of the girls remains unclear, reports in the media and from girls who escaped suggest they are being held in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno State. Media reports also suggest the girls may have been taken into Cameroon and Chad. We continue to try and establish the facts in this case.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Nigerian counterpart on the recent kidnapping of schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria.

    Mark Simmonds

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) spoke to the Nigerian Foreign Minister on 18 April when he condemned the abductions and offered UK assistance in securing the release of the schoolgirls.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Environment Agency expects to conclude its investigation into Churngold Recycling Ltd.

    Dan Rogerson

    This is a complex investigation that the Environment Agency is working hard to complete. Legal challenges to the investigation in the civil courts have caused delays. Once the investigation is complete and the matter has been legally reviewed, the Environment Agency will decide on any appropriate enforcement.